Organic search is the search that has results appearing in SERP because they are highly relevant and well optimized from search engine’s point of view. They are the result of high-impact search engine optimization process and are completely keyword based. They are also referred as free search results. Paid search also known as inorganic search or even commonly termed as PPC (PAY PER CLICK), on the other hand are sponsored links used for advertising or promoting the business for a short period of time.

They are used in the form of advertising campaign where the advertisers need to pay to the search engines, every time online visitors click on the ad. The position and rankings of paid search result depends heavily upon the bid money.

Organic search gives long time and life time results however, paid search results are quick and temporary, which means as long as you spend money on the campaign your ads will appear in the SERPs and the moment you stop, it will also disappear.

The basic difference between organic search and paid search are in the form of:

Position of appearance- organic search results appear on the right hand side of the page, just below the search box & above organic results. They have yellow background.

Duration of results- organic results are slow but life-time results which means once they start appearing, they continue to show for quite a long period of time. Paid search are quick in showing results but they quickly disappear too.

Trust level- in case of trust level, it can be said that they are moderate in case of organic search but it is less in case of paid-search as these result quickly goes off (the moment you stop campaigning)

Difficultly in achieving top positions- acquiring top positions in organic search requires lot of continuous effort but can be achieved relatively easily in paid search (first and foremost, it is the matter of the amount of money you spend).

Traffic volumes- Though traffic volume depends on the position of various keywords in organic search however, in the case of paid search the traffic is high for important keywords.

Advantages and disadvantages of organic search and paid search!

Organic Search (advantages):

- They do not charge any money
- They are natural results, thus more reliable
- These results take time to appear but are long lasting
- It has been observed that they are more appreciated than the paid search results, thus more clicked

PPC (advantages):

- Results come quickly
- The more money you spend, the higher ranking you are likely to get
- It has ability to assess most preferred keywords for organic searches
- It has the ability to connect audience to more targeted landing page

Organic Search (disadvantages):

- It is a time taking process
- At times it can be a costly affair because rate per hour of SEO can be expensive
- High ranking & visibility of every web-page in SERPs is very difficult.

PPC (disadvantages):

- It consumes lot of money
- The click scheme involved in it is very common

Organic search or Paid Search; which is more suitable!

Though both the methods have its own advantages and disadvantages and are beneficial for online marketing in their own right, but it is widely believed that Organic Search is far more effective in the long run as it delivers life time results. On the other hand PPC; which is extremely costly can be beneficial only for a small period of time. Never-the-less it is also highly effective because it helps to target the niche audience, as soon as one wants.

So if you too are thinking of promoting your business by any of the above mentioned methods, then it is necessary to say that you should first properly analyze your nature of business, budget and every other aspect and only then decide on the method you would follow. This will not only ensure good results but will also keep you on the safer side.